Articles

Occoquan River and Belmont Bay

-by Andy Andrzejewski

The tidal Occoquan River is a Virginia tributary lying in a Northwesterly to Southeasterly direction. Although it is a tributary of the tidal Potomac, it carries the name river.'

Occoquan means, at the head of the water or at the end of the water but upon navigating the tidal waters of the Occoquan River, one would think that Occoquan means river of many marinas. There certainly is no shortage of marinas or No Wake zones in this tributary. However, there is no shortage of fish either.

This waterway is home to bass, stripers, crappie, white and yellow perch, catfish, bluegill, some walleyes and in the spring, even shad. The Occoquan, with its deep water, is a 12 month fishery.

During our tour of this river, well follow the west side of the river in and come out the east side to Belmont Bay.

Lets begin at Taylors Point located on the western shore at the mouth of the river. This area is in transition, development is obliterating some shoreline features so be sure to make a note of present features for they may not be there in the future.

The land abutting this area used to be part of what once was the Harry Diamond labs. The shoreline may not look like it has much bass habitat but it should not be overlooked. Many a good bass has been caught along this section of the shore, especially the section where the old chain link fence runs to the water edge and north to the two story brick house.

As you sit at Taylors Point, you will notice two small islands directly behind you. This used to be just one island called Conrad Island but years of wave action have eroded it to the point where it now looks like two. Recently, cormorants have been homesteading on the few remaining trees on the island and their droppings have killed the trees and surrounding vegetation. This will probably expedite the erosion of the island. Cormorants are a detriment to both flora and fauna.

The island holds bass on occasion, especially the few remaining pilings on the south side but lets get back to the western shoreline and continue up the river.

In front of the old house north of Taylors Point, the shoreline has some downed trees which are productive on occasion.

Continuing north along this shore you will come to the new Belmont Bay Harbour marina facility, which, at the time of this writing, is close to completion. The rock jetties on each side of the marina are fish holders as well as the pilings inside. The rock jetty on the upstream side of the marina was extended out to the point where it covered an old rock pile that used to be a real bass producer but maybe the new jetty will be just as good.

The wooded shore past the marina is good also. Fish this until the water becomes too shallow to float your boat.There is an old wreck in this area, visible at low tide, that should not be overlooked. The water flows onto a marsh flat, creating a small backwater area before rounding back into the main river. The shoreline from this point to the rail road bridge can be good, especially if aquatic vegetation grows along here, but it is the ledge off of the shore that should demand your attention. Yellow perch and crappie fisherman are very familiar with this area. Work the ledge from the channel marker to the railroad bridge. At the railroad bridge you will notice pilings awash at low tide in front of the concrete railroad piles. These are a community hole but they always seem to hold fish as do the railroad bridge pilings themselves. Just upstream of the railroad bridge is the Route 1 Bridge. In between the railroad bridge and the Route 1 bridge and almost centered between the first piling off the west shore of both bridges, lies a rock pile. This rock pile is easy to find with a crank bait, fish it thoroughly.

The upstream side of the first Route 1 piling, off of the west shore, is another must fish spot. The upstream side has a ledge dropping into the barge basin. A dolphin, [pilings lashed together] sits adjacent to the piling. The ledge has a good deal of hard cover on it. This is a great worm hole at the beginning of an incoming tide. Of course, if the tug boats are maneuvering the barges into place, the prop wash pretty much ends your chances of making a good catch here.

The barge basin for the sand and gravel operation located here provides opportunities also. Fish along the bulkhead until you come to the first little marina. The pilings here are obvious habitat.

The next most visible feature is the Route 95 Bridge. The first set of pilings from the shore sit along a ledge that drops into the main channel. Its good for bass, crappie and perch.

Continue up the shoreline fishing the rocky wall, points, fallen trees and other cover until you come to a few private docks. These docks are crappie hot spots in the winter as well as excellent bass spots most of the year. Fish your way to Hoffmasters Marina and the Prince William Marina.

The rock island in front of the Prince William Marina is a consistent producer of bass. Fish both sides.

The upstream side of the island ends near marker 16 and then there is a row of private piers. Just past the piers and before you come to the Route 123 Bridge you will come to another island. This island has rock jetties at the lower end and upper end that are covered at high tide. Some PVC pipes mark their location but access the back side of this island from the upstream side near the restaurant. Be sure to fish the man made rock jetties on each end also. The restaurant dockage can be productive but at times they frown on the presence of bass boaters fishing in this area.

The bulkheaded shoreline above the bridge, in front of the town of Occoquan, has never been a great producer for me and I usually bypass it, which probably means its the best spot in the river. Fish it and make your own decisions.

Make it a point to fish the water treatment outflow beginning at the foot bridge to where the rocks make navigation impossible. The water is usually clear here and large rocks can be seen under the surface. Use caution but fish this area thoroughly, especially the small hump by the foot bridge piling along the east shore.
We are now on the eastern shoreline and well work are way out to Belmont Bay.

As you leave the footbridge area, the shoreline is a bluff wall with many rock outcroppings and a few downed trees, plus a brick pump house with a pipe leading into the water. It ends at the concrete bulkhead that fronts the County public launch ramp. Just below the launch ramp, a gravel bar extends into the river. This bar has several scattered rock piles situated on it and is a good place to crank bait. The shoreline from the gravel bar to Wagner Point is one of the most popular places to fish and its easy to see why. This shoreline is littered with large trees as well as excellent rock cover.

Wagner Point itself may be one of the most productive places in the river, especially the two submerged trees just south of the point. One could stay in this area all day and come away with a good bag of bass.

Just south of Wagner Point, next to the 95 Bridge, is a marsh creek that has an excellent drop in front of it. The drop runs behind the bridge pilings and is a seasonal spot for yellow perch and crappie as well as an all year place for bass. The bridge pilings themselves need no explanation.

The shoreline from the 95 bridge to the Route 1 bridge is distinctive in its make up. This long, high, rock, bluff bank looks out of place. If rocky, bluff banks are your preferred pattern, this is the place to fish.

The area under the route 1 bridge is always good for a few bass as is the shoreline to the railroad bridge.

Just below the railroad bridge is a favorite spot of many anglers.The ledge in front of what remains of the old Colchester Marina is home to many bass and crappie. It is an all year area and a great place to spend a winter day.

The marinas from Colchester south to the last marina also hold bass. It is not necessary to fish right around the pilings, many bass can be caught out in front of the marinas.

The last marina you come to has a covered mooring area. The two outermost corner pilings of this marina have rock piles planted 10 feet out from the piles. The small wooded point on the shoreline 50 feet south of the covered dock also has three rock piles about 25 feet off of the shoreline. They sometimes are awash at very low tides.

The rest of the shoreline from here to Massey Creek is shallow but navigable and most people generally ignore most of it until they reach the spatterdock pads that grow at the mouth of Massey Creek. Like all spatterdock pads, they can be good at times. Fish your way into Massey Creek working the visible pads as well as the docks and piles on the left side as you go into the creek. The creek is short and shallow, ending at a waste water treatment plant in the back. Now come back out the creek to the rip rap bank on the left at the mouth of Massey Creek. This rip rap can be good.

The shoreline north of here is only so so, until you get about halfway to Kane Creek. Then the water deepens slightly and the shoreline is loaded with downed trees as well as some water willow grasses all the way to the only pier along this section. The isolated pier is an obvious place to fish as is the shoreline for approximately 200 yards past it.

Continuing up this shore, you will come to a lengthy rip rap shoreline that leads to a rock jetty at the mouth of what some locals call little Kane Creek. My personal name for this creek is Fat Frog Creek. I fished this creek one day during a cicada infestation and encountered a bull frog that looked like he had tried to eat every cicada on the water. His body was as round as a baseball cap and when he jumped in the water to swim across he was so fat his feet barely touched the water. He sounded like four Pop-Rs going across the creek. In years past, little Kane Creek was very productive, it still holds bass but it is beginning to silt in badly and access is limited to only 100 yards or so unless you have a small boat. The rock jetty at the mouth of the creek is good for a bass or two on most occasions as is the rip rap shoreline leading to the jetty.

You can fish your way from Little Kane to Kane Creek or do as most people do, skip it and run on plane into Kane Creek. As you enter Kane Creek you will come to a 10 foot deep hole. The spatterdock pads surrounding this hole are a natural place for bass and is one of the areas that Guido Hibdon fished when he won a B.A.S.S. tournament on the river. Fish the pads and wooded banks on the left as you enter the creek. This is another area where the aluminum boater has the advantage. This is a shallow creek but can be accessed for a good ways if you have a very shallow draft boat. Almost every outside bend has wood and there are spatterdock pads between every bend.
As we leave the creek and enter Belmont Bay on our way back to the main river, there doesnt appear to be much to fish except for the occasional grass bed along the Mason Neck shoreline, particularly where the small creek runs out of the marsh. The rocks at Sandy Point are always good for a bass or striper. I and the upstream side has a decent ledge that extends to deeper water.

I know what your thinking now, ah ha!, he forgot to mention the rock pile in the middle of the bay that Tim Horton won his B.A.S.S. tournament on. No, I just saved it for last.

Sitting approximately 300 yards off of the Mason Neck shoreline is an old rock jetty which is now commonly referred to as Hortons Hole. This jetty lies in a North to South direction, is about 60 yards long, four feet wide and lies two feet under the surface in four feet of water. The GPS coordinates for this rock pile are 38 38 492, 77 12 796.

NOAA cruise charts indicate numerous uncharted rocks exist in Belmont Bay so there may be more to be found by anyone willing to spend the time searching the bay.
Well stop here at Sandy Point and continue upriver in our next article.